Though she had been a prominent part of CNN’s New Year’s Eve coverage for a decade, comedian Kathy Griffin will be conspicuously absent from this year’s on-air celebration.
The move was announced earlier this year in the wake of a controversial photo shoot. A series of widely shared images depicted Griffin holding a replica of President Donald Trump’s severed head.
Anderson Cooper, who had shared New Year’s Eve hosting duties with Griffin dating back to 2007, expressed his disapproval of the photo in a tweet.
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“For the record, I am appaled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in,” he wrote.
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Cooper went on to call the subject matter “clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate.”
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Griffin ultimately apologized for her participation in the photo shoot. As TMZ reported in May, however, CNN nevertheless announced she would be removed from this year’s program.
“I am sorry,” Griffin tweeted in response to the backlash. “I went too far. I was wrong.”
The partisan stunt cost Griffin more than just her yearly CNN gig.
As Business Insider reported at the time, Squatty Potty denounced her behavior and erased any mention to an ad she recorded for the company’s toilet stools.
“Kathy Griffin is not, nor ever has been Squatty Potty’s spokesperson,” the company explained in a statement. “She was hired to make one commercial. Squatty Potty has pulled said commercial as well as other promotional and marketing content featuring Kathy Griffin.”
The swift reaction came before CNN had finalized its position on the comedian, leading at least one member of the Trump family to criticize the network. In one tweet on the topic, Donald Trump Jr. claimed CNN showed no evidence of having any “moral/ethical standards.”
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“Insane what’s going on there!!!” Trump Jr. wrote.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were also publicly critical of the photo, as reported by CBS News.
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Melania Trump addressed the situation in a statement, saying the photo was “very disturbing.”
She went on to call the stunt “simply wrong” and publicly question Griffin’s “mental health.”
As The Western Journal previously reported, Andy Cohen was selected to replace Griffin as the Copper’s co-host during CNN’s 2017 New Year’s Eve programming. The actor and producer is known for hosting a string of television programs, including Bravo’s “Watch What Happens” series.
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